Verizon donates to domestic violence shelter on behalf of Holliston High

Joyce Kelly

Thursday

Oct 25, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 25, 2007 at 6:24 AM

After flooring managers at the town's food pantry and Verizon New England with an unprecedented donation, Verizon gave the Holliston High School senior class its "Hopeline Hero" award yesterday.

After flooring managers at the town's food pantry and Verizon New England with an unprecedented donation, Verizon gave the Holliston High School senior class its "Hopeline Hero" award yesterday.

When Michael Murphy, Verizon Wireless' New England public relations manager, read a surprise e-mail from a manager at Natick's Verizon store informing him that the Class of 2008 had "just dropped off 500 cell phones," he said, the news "completely caught my attention."

"I thought, 'That's incredible,"' said Murphy. Verizon's main philanthropic goal is to prevent and raise awareness of domestic violence, he said.

The class of roughly 240 students had collected the phones by splitting into small groups assigned to various neighborhoods in Holliston and going door-to-door collecting used cell phones during their Junior Scavenger Hunt this spring, said Senior Class President Kelsey KokEnnen.

Seniors gave the phones to the food pantry, who in turn gave them to Verizon, which refurbishes the phones and gives them to battered women's shelters, she said.

This way, women have someone to call for help if they are confronted by estranged husbands or boyfriends, said Holliston High School Principal Mary Canty.

"They are often in shelters because they are being stalked, too. The phones are a lifeline for these women," Canty said.

One in four women in this country have experienced domestic violence, and they need cell phones, Canty said.

"I'm very proud of the students - first, because they recognized such a good cause and responded in such an admirable way to the need. They organized themselves and collaborated as a group, and I think that's wonderful," she said.

Murphy wanted to recognize the seniors for their effort, so he named the class a "Hopeline Hero," named after Verizon's Hopeline program, and donated $3,000 in their names to Voices Against Violence, a social service agency for abused women and their families in Framingham.

The Hopeline program was created to help in the process of rebuilding lives, Murphy said, "because so often abusers use control of communication to keep the abuse silent."

Abused women use the phones to contact people they "don't necessarily want the abuser to be aware of," such as potential new landlords, employers, case managers for counseling, and the outside world in general, Murphy said.

Verizon puts 3,000 free minutes on the phones before shipping them to social service agencies and shelters, and offers a period of time when women can add minutes later, he said. Murphy said he is asking that the $3,000 Verizon donated to Voices Against Violence be used for shelter services and counseling for survivors of domestic violence and their families.

Holliston High School's Class of 2008 is the first class to have honored with the "Hopeline Hero" award, said Murphy, noting that Verizon New England only names about two recipients a year.

"It was really important to show the senior class what their actions translated into," Murphy said.

Receiving the award and knowing Verizon is donating $3,000 to Voices Against Violence is further motivation for the senior class to give, Kelsey said, "because they're able to see something come out of their efforts and see the connection" between work and outcome.

"A lot of people were really excited about it. It's great to feel you can make a difference in somebody's life, especially the life of a woman who faces abuse," Kelsey said.